Nissan teases its small crossover, the Juke

Nissan praises very much its crossover range, which nowadays goes from Qashqai to Murano. But the Qazana concept, presented at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, has indicated the company intended to have a smaller crossover to offer customers. Little more than one month before its official unveiling, in February 10, the company has decided to tease customers with a glimpse of the production version of Qazana. And it will be named Juke.



In Europe, the car will be built at the plant of Sunderland, United Kingdom, which already produces Qashqai, Qashqai+2 and Note. After its unveiling to the public, in the 2010 edition of Geneva Motor Show, it will go on sale in the Old World by October.

Source: Nissan

LEAKED! - Nissan Micra appears in steel and plastics in Auto.QQ.com

Nissan plans to sell the next generation Micra all over the world. It will be its way of expanding market share in emerging countries such as India, Brazil and China. With its official presentation scheduled for March 2010 in Thailand, the new car has already appeared in steel and plastics in the Chinese website Auto.QQ.com. And you may have a look at the pictures below:



The new Micra, developed under the codenames X02A and X02B (for its bigger version), will adopt 1.2-litre or 1.3-litre and 1.5-litre engines, although its version in Brazil is expected to be powered by 1-litre e 1.6-litre flexfuel engines supplied by Renault. Nissan and Renault already share engines in Nissan Livina, which is also produced in Brazil.

Nissan is not the only Japanese company aiming to increase market share in emerging countries with a small hatchback. Toyota is also developing a vehicle with the same standards and will reveal it very soon, possibly in India. Let's wait and see.





Source: Auto.QQ.com via Autoblog.nl

Nissan unveils the LEAF, its first mass-production electric vehicle

Nissan has released this weekend the first pictures and information on the new LEAF, its first mass-produced all-electric car. The Japanese company expects to start selling the car by the end of 2010 in Japan, USA and Europe.



With a recharging time of 8 hours in a regular 200V outlet, LEAF is able to reach a top speed of 140 km/h. Nissan does not inform how long it takes for the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, but it should not be very long, once it presents a 280 Nm engine, able to generate 80 kW (109 bhp). A single full charge provides a range of 160 km. A fast charger provides 70% of the charge in 30 minutes.

LEAF is 4.45 m long, 1.77 m wide, 1.55 m tall and bears a wheelbase of 2.70 m, what makes it a very roomy hatchback, able to carry up to five people. Although it is very similar to Tiida/Latio, LEAF is built over a dedicated platform, according to Nissan.

The Japanese automaker does not say how much the car will cost, it only gives us a hint on that: it will be the same price of a well-equipped C-segment vehicle. In other words, expect its price to be around US$ 20,000.











Source: Nissan

Bajaj ULC will also be built in Brazil as a Renault or Nissan

The next Brazilian (and South American) Renault can be the small SUV based on Dacia Duster, but it certainly is not the one that is going to drive more attention. That task is up to Bajaj ULC. According to "The Hindu Business Line", this vehicle, which is expected to be presented in 2012, will be built in Brazil.



It is still not defined whether the new car will wear a Renault or a Nissan badge, but we would bet on Renault because of its dealer network, which is bigger than Nissan's in Brazil. The ULC will cost about US$ 3,000 in India. In Brazil, its price is expected to be at least three times higher than that, what would still make the car amazingly cheap for Brazilian standards.

Bajaj ULC is still under development by Bajaj Auto, Nissan and Renault. The idea is to turn it into a world project, more remarkable by its fuel consumption (about 35 km/l) than by its price. We just hope development to be quicker.




Source: The Hindu Business Line via Indian Autos Blog

Nissan presents the flex version of Tiida/Latio/Versa in Brazil

Livina has anticipated the flexible 1.8-litre engine in Brazil and all over the world for Nissan. The Japanese company seems to be satisfied with the results and has put the same engine also inside of its hatchback, Tiida, also known as Latio and Versa.



In Tiida, the engine develops 125 bhp with petroland 126 bhp with ethanol, both at 5,200 rpm, a little better than the 124 bhp at 5,500 rpm of the previous version. Torque is still the same: 172 Nm at 4,800 rpm for both fuels. So is the compression ratio, 9.9:1, too low for an ethanol powered engine. The best flex engines of the Brazilian market easily reach 15:1. Ethanol already is a fuel with less power than gasoline. If the car does not make the best of it, there is a huge chance the car will turn into an "ethanol guzzler". Check out the fuel consumption numbers for Nissan Tiida Flex Fuel below (according to Brazilian standards):

Six-speed manual gearbox:

Ethanol

Urban: 7 km/l
Road: 9.6 km/l

Petrol

Urban: 11.7 km/l
Road: 16 km/l

Four-speed automatic gearbox (four speed):

Ethanol

Urban: 6.9 km/l
Road: 10.3 km/l

Petrol

Urban: 11.4 km/l
Road: 17.1 km/l

Since ethanol also presents a better performance than petrol, the fact that Tiida has similar performance numbers with both fuels also state that Nissan is still very careful about the flex fuel technology. Check the numbers below:

Six-speed manual gearbox:

Ethanol

Top speed: 196 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 9.6 s

Petrol

Top speed: 194 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 9.7 s

Four-speed automatic gearbox (four speed):

Ethanol

Top speed: 178 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 11 s

Petrol

Top speed: 177 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 11.1 s

Tiida also presents new equipment, such as power door locks that lock automatically when the car reaches a certain speed, a new board computer and a CD Player able to play MP3 files with an iPod interface.

Nissan also intends to present the a flexible fuel Sentra in the next few months. As soon as it does it, will bring you all the info about it.













Source: Nissan

Nissan presents the Skyline Crossover, aka Infiniti EX, in Japan

Nissan first had the Skyline. Then it has become the Skyline GT-R, a car that was so special it eventually got apart from Skyline. Now Nissan presents a new sibling from Skyline, but not necessarily so deeply involved with the car, as GT-R once was. Japan now can buy the Skyline Crossover, an Infiniti EX with a Nissan badge.



The new crossover, still limited to Japan, will be equipped with the VQ37VHR engine, a 3.7-litre V6 that is able to generate 333 bhp at 7,000 rpm and 365 Nm at 5,200 rpm. We only hope to see it in markets where Infiniti is not available.




Source: Nissan

What do Qazana and Duster have in common? More than you think

Have a good look at the two cars below and aswer: what do Nissan Qazana and Dacia Duster, two of the main attractions at this year's Geneva Motor Show, have in common?




If you think they do not have anything to do with each other, you are very mistaken, because they do. Although they will probably be very different in appearance when they reach the production lines, they will be very similar from underneath, once they are supposed to share the same platform, B0.

The B0 platform is a simplified version of the B platform, the same one used by Renault Modus and Nissan Tiida/Latio. In other words, both platforms can be built in the same plant with minor differences, so much that they look so similar only a specialist could differ one from the other.

This is why Nissan Livina has been recently presented in Brazil. The South American country already produces Logan and Sandero, badged as Renault vehicles, instead of Dacia. Since Nissan did not have a Brazilian produced car, only a truck, Frontier, it has seized the fact that the B0 platform is already in use in Brazil and have built there its first car. But it will not be the last.

Dacia Duster has been eagerly expected because it anticipates the small SUV that will be produced and probably launched in Brazil. The world premiere must even be in this country, as it has happened with Sandero. This is because Ford has been the first company to present a small SUV in Brazil, called EcoSport. It uses the previous Ford Fiesta platform and sells like hot cakes because it is the only option available in South American countries with that price tag. Renault clearly wants a piece of this market. Apparently, Nissan also does.

Since Duster's production version will be produced in Brazil, Qazana's may be built there as well. It would be something easy and fast to do, offering a car that perfectly fits a market segment that keeps increasing its share. And all this in one of the only car markets of the world that has not been heavily affected by the finantial crisis. Doesn't it sound sweet?

Both cars have different sizes, what may give the impression they do not share the same platform. Duster is 4.25 m long, 1.50 m tall, 1.64 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.80 m. Qazana, on the other hand, is 4.06 m long, 1.57 m tall, 1.78 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.53 m. Some means say it will use the new A platform that will be applied to the next generation Micra, but since the current Micra uses the B platform, we keep our bet that Duster and Qazana will have the same platform. We may be wrong, but we don't think we are.

Keep on comparing the two concept cars below. They may be look different, but they will surely be siamese twins.
















Source: Nissan and Renault

World Premiere - Nissan introduces in Brazil its first flex fuel vehicle, Livina

Renault has started its industrial operations in Brazil with Scénic, a medium-sized (for Brazilian standards) minivan that has introduced this sort of vehicle to Brazilian customers. Since Nissan and Renault are so connected, to say the least, the Japanese carmaker has also started its car production in Brazil with a medium-sized minivan, but it has gone a step further, offering this vehicle for the price of a small minivan. This is the way Livina is being presented to the South American market. Best of all: it is Nissan's first flex fuel vehicle of the world.



The Brazilian-produced Livina uses two engines: a 16V 1.6-litre that produces 108 bhp with ethanol and 104 bhp with petrol at 5,750 rpm and a 16V 1.8-litre 16V that generates 126 bhp with the biofuel and 125 bhp with the fossile one, both at 5,200 rpm. In the cheapest engine, the only option is a five-speed manual gearbox. In the more expensive, there is no other choice other than a four-speed automatic transmission.

The 1.8-litre engine is the same one used by Tiida/Latio and Sentra. Both of these cars will be sold in Brazil with the same engine this year. Since they are produced in Mexico, there is a possibility these cars can also be sold in the USA. In Brazil, Nissan will use a small petrol tank located between the hood and the windshield to help on cold starts, but in the USA, where there is no E100, but only E85, this small tank is not necessary.

Although very wise, the strategy offering a big car for the price of a smaller one is not as original as it may seem. It has been inherited from Renault, which has done the same with Logan and Sandero. By the way, Livina shares the B0 platform with these two cars, although Nissan insists it is a more sophisticated version of it, the B platform, also used by Tiida.

Livina is 4.18 m long, 1.69 m wide and 1.57 m tall, with a luggage compartment able to hold 449 l of bags. Its wheelbase is 2.60 m long, what assures plenty of space to its five passengers.































Source: Nissan